After Kilimanjaro: A Novel

Description

* More than 200 million women and girls around the world have been subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM). * Interest in volunteering abroad is booming. In recent years, approximately 1.6 million people "gave back" abroad annually, and medical outreach is especially popular. * Tales of strong women physicians is an untapped market. 19% of practicing surgeons in the US are female, and women currently make up nearly half of the residents in surgery training programs. * Women's fiction comprises approximately 60% of adult popular fiction paperbacks. AUDIENCE: * People who are interested in volunteer tourism, particularly millennials. * People who are interested in women's health issues * Supporters of the #MeToo movement * People who are interested in African life and culture * People who enjoy reading a good love story

Dr. Gayle Woodson is a world-renowned throat surgeon. As one of the first few women to be trained in the Johns Hopkins Surgical program, she began her career at a time when female surgeons were regarded as oddities. She has lectured on six continents and done medical outreach in Central America, the Middle East, and Africa. Recently semi-retired, she now divides her time between homes in Florida, Newfoundland, and Tanzania with her husband. They have four children, four grandchildren, and a Springer spaniel.

2019 Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Awards Silver Winner in Unpublished Women's Fiction 2020 CIBA Chatelaine Book Awards 1st Place Winner 2020 American Fiction Awards Winner in Multicultural Fiction 2020 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award Silver Winner in Fiction: Romance 2020 International Book Awards Finalist in Fiction: Romance 2020 Readers' Favorite Book Awards Honorable Mention in Women's Fiction 2021 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Multicultural (Fiction) 2021 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist in Romance (Fiction) 2021 Chatelaine Award First Place Winner in Romance 2021 New Indy Book Awards Finalist "An engagingly written story of a woman's transformation that's begging for a sequel." --Kirkus Reviews "Gayle Woodson writes in prose that is fluid and captivating and fills the writing with exciting dialogues, right from the moment the reader encounters the protagonist in the aircraft to the very last page." --Readers' Favorite "Medical fiction of this kind is rare--it's not a thriller or a tearjerker, but a thoughtful novel about doctors, the work they do, and the impact this work has on their patients and the communities they serve." --Booklist "A beautiful story of courage, adventure, love, loss, and hope. I could not put it down." --Dr. Nina Shapiro, award-winning author of Hype: A Doctor's guide to Medical Myths, Exaggerated Claims, and Bad Advice "What a magnificent journey into the heart of Tanzania and what it means to be a young female surgeon in such a far away, sometimes brutal, and ultimately romantic area. In the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, Dr. Woodson exposes the reader to life and death, love and loss, and ultimately what it means to find one's own voice." --Nancy L Snyderman, MD, FACS, Professor at Stanford University Center for Innovation in Global Health "This shimmering novel takes us to Tanzania with Sarah, a young surgical resident who is torn between a boy back home in America and a new love in Africa. Medical action skillfully interweaves with vivid descriptions of the country and the looming presence of Mount Kilimanjaro. The book is a page-turner. I literally could not put it down." --Carol Scott-Conner MD, FACS, author of A Few Small Moments